You Can't Pass Algebra with a Winning Smile
by Scarlet Dragon the Third
Summary: College student Piper needs to pass math, not get a boyfriend, but football star Jason Grace isn't going to let Piper slip through his fingers. AU Originally a two shot. K /T
1. Chapter 1

Why was she so annoyed? Because of Mr. I'm-so-freaking-awesome, better known as Jason Grace, who was sitting two tables away, but was being so loud that it sounded like he was next to her. Piper Mclean was _trying_ to study in her college's library, but freaking Jason was being as annoying as he possibly could, which was a lot of annoying. She'd had a lot of experience with his need to annoy her as much as possible and to get her to go on a date with him. The only thing that stopped her from leaving was the fact that she was going to fail her math midterm if she did. She wasn't sure why Jason was here- probably detention. It was only midway through both their freshman years (she only knew he was a freshman because he wouldn't shut up about being the only freshman to make the varsity football team) and he had already been labeled a troublemaker along with his friend and fellow freshman Leonardo "Leo" Valdez. Funny enough, Piper got along with Leo fine. It was just Jason that bothered her. If his ego wasn't so big that the Statue of Liberty was probably jealous, she might have liked him. He wasn't ugly (pretty far from it, actually) which more than likely inflated his ego more. Piper tried to concentrate, but it was impossible with Jason singing "Stereo Hearts" in the background. Where the hell was the librarian? Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She got up, walked to the table where he was sitting, and said "Can you stop that please?"

He stopped singing to reply "I'll stop when you agree to go on a date with me."

She sighed." What makes you think that annoying me will get me to go on a date with you?"

"I _know_ that being annoying will get you to go out with me because eventually you will be ready to kill me to make me shut up and I will gladly shut up if you say yes to going on a date."

Piper took a deep breath before she said "No."and then was walking away when Jason called out "I wouldn't do that."  
She turned around to face him. "Give me reason why I shouldn't leave."

He smirked before saying" I wasn't aware you wanted to fail math."

She was too stunned to reply and Jason kept talking.

"I have friends in high places." He said smugly.

"So," he continued "You go out with on me Friday and I leave you alone till then so you can study."

She was stuck and he knew it. As much as she didn't want to go out with, she wanted to pass math more, and if Jason left her alone she might be able to focus.

She looked like she was about to spit fire when she said "Fine."

He walked out, but not before saying," I'll be the handsome one with the blue car."

Stupid freaking Jason.

**a/n Don't own Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus or "Stereo Hearts".**


	2. Chapter 2

When Piper finally walked out of the library, her head swimming with so many numbers, it felt like her math book had vomited in her brain, she thought about what had just happened. She had just agreed to go on a date with Jason Grace. Why? Oh yeah, because she couldn't study, which would have made her fail, and then she could wave goodbye to paid college. You see, Piper's dad was paying for college. He warned her if she failed one class, he was going to stop paying. As much as she hated Jason, she wasn't going to be up in her ears in debt paying for college herself. She walked to her dorm, still trying to figure out how Jason knew about her failing math.

Jason, unlike Piper, was looking forward to Friday. He entered his dorm singing "Paradise" by Coldplay at the top of his lungs. His buddies looked at him weirdly. There was Percy Jackson, a junior, with green eyes, black eyes and a rebellious streak so wide, people could have used it as a road. He was also known for a longtime relationship with Annabeth Chase, another junior (and Piper's roommate). Then there was Leo Valdez, who was Jason's best friend, and fellow prankster, with curly hair and excited eyes. And lastly, there was Nico di Angelo, with black eyes, a bored stare (Unless he was sleeping, or listening to music.) and bed hair. He was infamous for falling asleep in class. "Why are you so happy?" Percy asked.

"How do you know I'm happy?"

"You only sing Coldplay when you're happy." Leo answered.

"So what are you happy about?" Nico asked.

"I've got a date with Piper on Friday." Jason answered before singing the chorus of "Vida la Vida".

"WHAT?!" Percy managed to say.

"You're doing what?" Leo yelled.

"You heard me." Jason said

"Did you brainwash her?"

Jason glared at Nico.

"What?" "It's a fair question."

Piper thought that Friday (at least this Friday) should get an award for being the fastest freaking thing ever. Time had flown by, even with studying every second. Now, here she was, staring at her closet, trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to wear. She groaned and flopped on her bed.

Jason was feeling great. His body was tired and bruised from football practice, but that was to be expected. He was going on a date with Piper, and was determined to get Piper to stop hating him. Maybe get her to like him a little. Or a lot. Yeah, a lot was good. He spent about an hour trying to get his hair to not resemble Nico's and get his to look decent. He checked and then double-checked to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He'd even cleaned out his car (and found that English paper). He had also ironed his clothes, which was so unlike him Leo had asked if he had gotten any hits to the head. He checked the time. 7:30. He didn't have to be there to pick up Piper until 8:00. Still, you could never be too sure. He got in his car and drove away.

Piper had finally found something to wear- not a second too soon, because she saw Jason's car pull just as she was finished getting dressed. He was excited; she tried not to look like she would rather be anywhere else then where she was. He smiled and held out something Piper realized was a flower. On all the dates she had even been on (which wasn't a lot) this was first. It was a small gesture, but Piper warmed to Jason just a little. "So, where to?" she asked as they got in his car.

"It's a surprise." Jason grinned.

She pouted. "I hate surprises."

He smiled. "You'll like this one, I promise."

She tried to get him to tell her, but he wasn't budging. She realized she wasn't having as bad a time as she thought she would be having. She was actually enjoying his company. _No, Piper. You hate him. Remember that. He's a self-absorbed jerk._ Instead, he changed the topic.  
"Is there a specific reason why you get along so well with Leo and hate me?" he said.

"You can't not like Leo." She said, trying to avoid the second part of his question. It didn't work.

"But why don't you like me?" Piper thought there was a little hurt in his voice but ignored it.

"I don't hate you." "I strongly dislike you when you are annoying the hell out of me, but I don't hate you."  
He laughed. "How do I annoy you?"

"Most people wouldn't like it if someone starting singing while they were trying to study."

"So I annoy you when you're studying?"

"Yes." She answered bluntly.

"So if I stopped irritating you, you wouldn't hate me?"

"If you didn't irritate me, I might actually like you."

The car pulled up to a stop. "We're here."

**a/n That was part 1 of the date. Any ideas on where they should go? Leave it in a review. You guys got some background for Piper here. I do not own Coldplay, but I did have a pair of, pair of dice.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: Guys, I know I haven't updated in a really long time. I'm re-writing some of the chapters for my other story, plus I'm writing my own story, so I haven't really had a chance to update. I will try to update more often now, and hopefully this will not happen again.**

Jason was creative, Piper would give him that. Of all the places to go on a date with a jock with, a roller-skating rink was not even close to what she had expected. He seemed to sense her shock, because he smirked as they got out the car.

"What? Did you think I was gonna drag you to a football field?"

"No, but I didn't think you were the roller-skating type."

"Why? Because I'm a" jock?" I'm offended by that."

She shoved him. "Shut up."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine."

Piper was even more surprised when they walked inside. The place was huge. There were lights flashing all over place, music, and a snack bar. Piper couldn't even remember the last time she'd skated. Knowing herself, her face was going to become acquainted with the floor many times. They walked over to get skates. The guy there treated Jason like a celebrity, at one point asking him for his autograph (for his niece, of course).

Piper barely got to the hardwood floor meant for skating without falling. Jason, however, made it there gracefully** (a/n couldn't help it) **before coming back and helping her, roping his hand around her waist for support. She flushed at the contact, but noticed that Jason, for once, was not wearing his custom smirk. When they made it to the skating area she was forced to hold on to the wooden rail around the rink to keep her balance. Jason was next to her but he was laughing the whole time. Within an hour, she'd managed to fall 10 times and dragged Jason down with her 8. Finally he suggested heading over to the snack bar to get something to eat, which she was more than okay with.

After getting burgers, fries and churros-Piper made a mental note to save Leo some- they sat down, and Piper realized how tired her feet were and how tired and sweaty she was. Jason, however, hadn't broken a sweat. Instead, he seemed amused that she was so tired.

"How are you so good at this?" Piper asked, slightly frustrated.

"Well, skating is kinda like football. You have to be able to move fast and stay on your feet."

Piper didn't know a thing about football, and she had a feeling Jason knew that. But she decided to be nice and seem slightly interested. "What position do you play?"

There it was again, that custom smirk. "Wide receiver."

Piper still had no idea what he was talking about. "What?" she asked.

Jason sighed. "You don't know anything about football, do you?"

Piper shook her head.

"The wide receiver catches the ball. That's why you have to have fast hands and fast feet."  
Piper raised an eyebrow. "Are you bragging, Grace?"

"I _am_ on the best upcoming players list and I broke a school record for most yards. I feel like I have bragging rights."

"And now you're going back to Jason the jerk."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, this jerk and you need to head back to campus before curfew."

Piper hadn't noticed how late it was: she checked her phone and saw Jason was right. Then her phone was snatched out her hand.

"Hey!" she protested.

"Relax; I'm just putting my number in your phone." He handed it back for her to see that he had saved his number as "Hot Stuff". She sighed as she changed it to Jason.

As they got in his car, she realized that she could be done with Jason after this. No more smirks, no more lame pick-up lines. But Jason wasn't all bad. A jerk sometimes, but not all bad. But Piper had more time than she would have thought with Jason, because they got stuck in traffic. Really bad traffic. Just fantastic.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as the car pulled to a stop, Jason leaned over and turned off the engine.

"To save gas." He said, noticing the look Piper gave him.

Maybe it was because she was exhausted, or maybe it was because she was angry that they were more than likely not going to make curfew, but she sighed and responded "Whatever."

Unfortunately, Jason seemed to pick up on her mood.

"What's the matter with you? I know you didn't want to go on a date with me, but now you look like you've just seen a ghost and you're not sure whether you want to run away from it or stab it." he said, for once not having that annoying smile on his face.

"It's nothing." She tried, hoping he would believe her and ignore it.

"Is it because you're failing math?" And annoying Jason was back. That I'm-better-than-you smile was back, but she wasn't completely sure it was directed at her.

"Actually no, but since you've brought that up, how did you know I was failing math?" she asked, more inquisitive than angry at this point.

Jason flushed red and rubbed the back of is neck. "Well….you see.." he trailed off, looking out the window.

"See what?" she questioned, pressing for an answer.

Jason looked like he was about to say something, but he looked up suddenly.  
"Hey, the traffic's cleared up!"

"How..?" she started, but was cut off when the engine roared to life.

She didn't get to ask him, though, Jason drove like a madman, and they were back in no time.

Jason stopped the car, staring out the window, the blush still present on his face.

"How….?" She tried again, but Jason cut her off.

"I know I annoy you and stuff, but is it possible that…" Jason sounded absolutely flustered, and despite the fact that she hated Jason's attitude; Piper couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Is what possible?" She asked. She had a idea what he was going to say, but the fact that the "almighty" Jason Grace was stumbling over his words to talk to her was funny to watch, but at the same time, it was flattering.

"How about a date next week?" Jason finally managed, that smirk still present on his face like he hadn't just stumbled through his words.

"I hope you're not expecting me to throw myself at your feet and say yes." She responded.

"You wouldn't be Piper if you did." He sighed, disappointment on his face.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to, Grace." She hardly believed the words she was saying, and guessing by the brief look of shock that crossed Jason's face -before being covered up by the damn smirk- he wasn't expecting her to say yes either.

"So I'll see you in class?" she asked, getting out of the car.

"More likely in detention," He replied. "See you later, McLean."

**Yes, I'm back! Sorry for not updating, but a lot of stuff has happened. I went to prom, senior trip, graduated- a lot of stuff. But now I can update. Hopefully I will by next week, so see you guys then.**


	5. Chapter 5

Jason walked into his dorm room whistling. His buddies looked up from the TV, except Nico, who was passed out on the couch. Percy and Leo looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" Leo asked, not being able to stay quiet.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Well what?"

Percy couldn't take the suspense.

"Just tell us how it went, Grace."

Jason raised up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. We kinda came to an understanding, and-

"Where'd you take her?" Percy asked, cutting him off.

"I don't see why that matters, but we went to that roller-skating place on Fifty-fifth-"

He was cut off (once again) but this time it was Leo, who had started cheering after Jason said roller-skating.

"Pay up, Jackson!" he whooped, running across the room like a madman.

Jason was confused. "What?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Me and Leo made a bet about where you would take her. I said movie theater, and he said you liked her too much for that"-Jason's cheeks flushed- and we made a bet."

"Which you lost!" crowed Leo.

"And now I have to pay Leo twenty dollars." Percy continued.

"You guys bet on my date?"

"Yep."

Jason face palmed. "Why am I friends with you guys?"

"Because no one else will deal with your borderline creepy obsession with Piper?" offered Leo.

"I'm not obsessed!"

"Sure, dude."

"I'm not!" Jason protested.

"You went to Coach and made him look up Piper's file. That's a little creepy." spoke Nico, who had woken up.

"Oh, like you've got room to talk about being creepy, Nico." Leo scoffed.

There was no answer. Jason glanced at Nico to see that he had passed out once again.

"How does he do that?" asked Jason

"The world may never know." muttered Leo, turning back to the TV.

…

A couple of days later, Piper was nervous. Fear gnawed at her stomach. Today was the day of her math midterm, and she didn't think she was close to understanding.

She didn't want to eat anything, but Annabeth had forced her to drink some orange juice and shoved a waffle down her throat.

Well, at least if she threw up she could retake the test. She stood outside her classroom, nervously adjusting her book bag strap. _Time to face the music._

She walked in, noticing she was one of the only ones there, which didn't surprise her. She was only there this early because, according to Annabeth if she"didn't leave early, she wasn't going to leave at all."

Her teacher looked up from his desk, nodded to her, and went back to work. Piper sat down and sighed. She was about to pull out her math book and get in some last minute studying when the door opened.

She looked up and there he was, looking both confused and angry. Why was Jason here? She needed to focus, and having Jason in the same room wasn't gonna help.

He walked up to the teacher's desk and began talking. He wasn't very loud, but then again, the room was practically empty. If she just leaned forward a little…. No, she had to study._ Focus, Piper, focus._

"McLean!"her teacher barked.

"Yes sir?" she asked. She saw Jason scoff.

"Apparently you're needed elsewhere by the coach. You can take the test next week."

Jason smirked at her and waved.

The only thing she could think was _how?_ She wasn't gonna question it for too long though. She grabbed her bag and ran out with Jason before her teacher could change his mind.

Once they were outside, she looked at Jason incredulously.

"How did you-why?"

Jason grinned at her. "I knew you didn't want to take the test, so I got Coach to pull some strings."

As much as Piper didn't like Jason, even she had to admit this was thoughtful and sweet, two things she had been sure Jason Grace was incapable of being. She was surprised, but what she did surprised herself even more.

She kissed him. Granted, it was only on the cheek but still. And then she ran.

….

Back at her dorm, she relayed the day's events to Annabeth over the phone, because Annabeth was out with her brothers, for "family time'. Of course, when Piper told her, Annabeth was furious.

"You skipped class?"

Piper was dumbfounded. "I tell you all that and the only thing you're concerned about is me skipping class?"

"Oh, come on. Anyone could've called you kissing Jason but skipping class? Why would you do something that stupid? "

Piper blushed. "What do you mean; anyone could've called me and Jason? I don't like him."

Annabeth laughed. "If you're still saying that, you should sort out what you do fell for Jason then. Gotta go."

The line cut off and Piper was left alone with her thoughts.

….

Jason walked into his dorm to a clap on the back from Percy, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Heard about you and Piper, Jason." He said.

"From who?"

Percy held up his phone. "Annabeth."

Of course. "There's no need to be that happy Percy."

Percy looked taken aback. "What do you mean? She kissed you!"

"On the cheek!" he protested. As much as he had been happy at the moment, when she ran away that had kinda planted a seed of doubt in Jason's mind.

"Sure, whatever dude. Deny the obvious."

"What's the obvious?" he asked.

"That Piper has feelings for you!"

Jason could only hope so.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dude." Jason could hear Leo's voice, but chose to ignore it.

Bad choice. He head Leo walk away and then felt cold water on his face. He immediately sat up, spitting out water as he did so.

"What the hell, man?"

"You need to get up and get dressed." Was Leo's matter-of-fact answer.

Jason was till half-asleep, but he could tell that it was early. He glanced at his alarm clock to make sure and saw he was right when the alarm read 4:30. Nico was passed out on the couch(as per usual),and Jason could hear Percy's snoring from the other room.

"Why are you waking me up this early?" questioned Jason, still groggy.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "You forgot about Spartan Week?"

Jason mentally cursed; Spartan Week was a week (usually in the spring) when Coach would give the team the harshest, most grueling tasks for training. It wasn't to be taken lightly- Coach got some of his methods from the Navy SEAL's methods. You had to be on the field by 4:45 in the morning, you couldn't wear anything to protect you from the cold, and you got one water break a day. If you messed up once, you did whatever it was that you messed up fifty times. You couldn't complain, and if you were late, you had to do thirty pushups.

Leo was second-string, and he probably wasn't going to play at all during the season, but Coach required everyone to be there, even the water boy.

He'd be so wrapped up on what happened with Piper that he'd forgotten. He shot out of bed like a rocket, wolfed down some oatmeal, and was dressed in under 10 minutes.

Leo looked at him with a mix of horror and respect. "I've never seen anyone eat that fast. Not even Percy."

"Fear is a great motivator."

They sprinted toward the field, praying that Coach wasn't in a bad mood.

…..

"Alright cupcakes, listen up!" Coach barked at the shivering, similarly dressed Iine of boys.

"These next couple of hours are gonna be the worst you've ever experienced. But you will not complain, and you will continue to play football until you are instructed to stop. Is that clear?"

"Yes Coach!" the group yelled in unison.

"You all-he pointed to the boys toward the left-will be defense. The rest of you- he pointed to the roup Leo and Jason were in- will be offense. Got it?"

They all wordlessly nodded, and got into formation.  
Jason couldn't help feel a little scared- it was freezing, the field was slippery due to rain, and some of the kids playing defense looked like they ate barbells. Nevertheless, he swallowed his fear and jumped into action as the play started. It was supposed to be a simple play- the quarterback fakes a pass, and gives the ball to the running back, and the tight end acts as defense. The tight end didn't do crap, but that wouldn't have made a difference, and Leo was tackled, which also would not have made a difference if the guy hadn't tackled Leo with the force of a pickup truck.

Jason rushed over to Leo along with the other players. Leo was on the ground. He was conscious, but his eyes were closed and Jason knew that he had to be in pain. Jason kneeled by him and helped him up, and Leo almost fell over.

"Valdez!" barked the coach as he walked toward him, and Jason hoped that Coach wasn't going to blame this on home somehow.

Leo couldn't even lift his head. "yeah Coach?"

"Sit down and take a breather . You got hit pretty hard there."

Jason stood aside as Coach helped Leo to the bleachers, and then turned to Salem, the guy who had tackled Leo.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jason demanded

"What? I tackled him. That's how defense works, or have you been too busy thinking about that Piper girl to remember?" asked Salem.

A low chorus of "oooh" was heard. Jason said nothing, but his fists clenched. Salem apparently didn't notice this and took it as an open invitation to keep talking.

"I mean, I could understand if she was your girlfriend. But she hates you dude. And in all honesty, she's not really that pretty-" Maybe it was because Jason was angry because he'd been dragged out at 4:30 in the morning to play football in cold rain. Maybe it was because some jerkwad had decided to hurt his best friend. Whatever the reason, something inside Jason snapped, and he tackled Salem to the round as hard as he could, flailing and punching at his face as he did so. Salem was taken by surprise and seemed stunned. But he still managed to hit Jason right above his eye, which really freaking hurt, but he ignored it and kept punching until he felt someone grab him and Salem used the opportunity to punch him in the mouth, which hurt even more than the punch to the eye, and then Salem was being held back too.

"Hey! Break it up!" a rough voice commanded, and Jason saw one of the team managers glaring at him and Salem.

"What's going on here?" he demanded ,looking at both of them for an answer. Neither of them said anything, and that seemed to piss of the manager even more.

"Don't wanna talk, huh? Fine then, I guess the principal needs to hear about this. Come with me."

….

Since the principal was in bed at 5:00 in the morning like most normal people, Jason had to wait two hours, during which his eye had darkened, he had a couple bruises and his lip had yet to cease bleeding. Salem was worse off though, and Jason couldn't help feeling a little accomplished. Unfortunately for Jason, Piper just had to need to see the dean at the same time Jason was sitting in the hallway while the principal talked to Salem.

He saw her at the end of the hallway, and he had attempted to hide his face before realizing it was pointless, and then he had silently prayed she wouldn't notice him. But naturally she did, and her eyes widened when she saw him.

"Jason?"

He looked up at her and managed a smirk. "Hi."

"What happened to you?"

He shrugged and tried to sound nonchalant. "Just a fight. You think I look bad, you should see the other guy." But she wasn't listening, and she kept muttering something under her breath.

"They didn't give you an ice pack or anything?"

He shook his head. "The team manager said to man up and pull through without ice."

She scoffed. "The team manager sounds like an ass."

He smiled but then winced at the pain. "He is. But you should leave, because I'm going to the principal's office soon, and that means the guy I fought will be out here, and he's a real douche. "There was no way in hell he'd let Salem bother Piper.

"I'm not leaving." She said stubbornly.

He probably should have let it go. But the idea of Salem and Piper did something to him, and he got angry.

"Oh, you wanna stay now, but you wouldn't stay after you kissed me?" he shot at her.

She got as angry as he was.

"You..You know what? I'm gonna stay right here, and I'm gonna wait till you leave the office just to piss you off now." She snapped.

He would have argued with her further, but then the doors to the office opened, and out walked Salem. The principal called Jason in, and before the doors closed, he saw Piper shoot Salem a glare, which made him feel slightly better.

Jason sat in the uncomfortable chair and tried not to get annoyed as the principal talked.

"But you better thank whatever god you believe in, Grace, because as much as I don't like you, Salem irks me beyond belief. So I'll let you off with a warning. Good day." The principal finished and all but shoved Jason out the door.

When Jason walked out, Salem was gone, but Piper was still there, holding an ice pack. She still looked angry but not like before. He sat next to her without a word.

"Tilt your head back." She commanded, and Jason did just that. He winces when the ice comes in contact with his skin, but says nothing.

So they're just sitting there, him with an icepack on his face and her glaring at him.

Finally, he speaks up. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for yelling at me when I tried to help or sorry for bringing up the kiss?" she snaps.

"Well maybe if you'd stop messing with my feelings, I wouldn't have brung it up!"

She stands up. "Oh I'm messing with your feelings? Have you thought about mine?" she storms off into the staircase, and he knows he has to follow her. He hastily gets up, dropping the icepack.

She knows he's behind her, because the moment he walks in, she attacks him, her tiny fists hitting his chest.

He has to hold her wrists to stop her hitting him.

"Piper, calm down."

"I will not calm down! You think you're the only one whose feelings have been messed with? You bother me until I go on a date with you. I agree to go on another with you. Then I try to help you, and you brush me away-"she doesn't get to finish, because Jason lets go of her wrists before pressing his lips to hers. She calms down almost instantly, her fingers knotting themselves in his hair. Jason silently curses Salem Mendoza for bruising his face, but other than that, it's perfect.


	7. Chapter 7

She looked up at Jason after they separated, and, their noses touching, she shot him a shy smile.

He flashed her that smirk, and she rolled her eyes.

"So should I say I told you so now or later?" he asks her the smirk not leaving his face.

"Don't ruin the moment." She mumbled.

"So you admit we had a mome-"he's cut off as Piper kisses him again, and he shuts up.

They would have stayed like that, her fingers knotted in his hair and his hands just below her waist, if there hadn't been an announcement over the loudspeaker. Piper didn't know what was being said, and frankly she didn't care. All she knew was that she had been kissing Jason Grace, the egotistical, self-absorbed jerk. But she realized that Jason wasn't a complete jerk. Sure, she'd seen the douchebag side of him, but she'd also seen the caring, sweet side of him. And she was confused. Most people don't kiss you when you're yelling at them. And Jason was a really good kisser. But that wasn't the point. She was confused, but it felt right in a way. And wrong in another.

Why did things have to be so complicated?

"Listen, Pipes, as much as I'd like to stay like this" he starts when they finally separate,-she flushes when she realizes how close they are-"I gotta go back to practice and check on Leo."

Her head snaps up. "What happened to Leo?" she demands.

"Salem hit him really hard at practice. That's what we fought about. He was on the bench when I left." He responds, not meeting her eyes.

"I'm coming with you." She says, and she can tell he's not gonna argue as much as he wants to.

…..

It takes them approximately 5 and a half minutes to get to the field. They've had been there quicker if she hadn't gotten distracted by that scar on his lip that she'd just noticed was there, but whatever. She ignores the stares as she and Jason walk to Leo, who was mostly recovered but still slightly loopy and laying down on a bench, next to someone who Piper assumed was a coach. He nodded to Jason, shot a confused look at Piper, and walked to the team who had been standing around aimlessly.

"Piper! What are you doing here?" he practically yells. He attempts to get up but stumbles, and both Jason and Piper have to catch him.

He brushes them off. "Jason, why'd you bring her here, man?"

Jason rolled his eyes. " I didn't want her to come, she chose to come. She wanted to see you" He said, throwing Piper a glance.

Leo looked incredulous. "You didn't want her to come? What, were you afraid she'd laugh at you? Wait." Realization dawned in his eyes. "I knew it! Nico owes me ten bucks!" he whooped.

"Leo, what-"Piper started, but Leo cut her off.

"You two," he says, wagging his finger "kissed. And I'm gonna fake sick, so you"-he pointed at Jason-"can tell me about it."

"Leo, wait." Jason pleaded, but Leo had thrown himself on the ground and started groaning in pain, catching the attention of everyone.

"Valdez! You okay?" the coach yelled

"I don't think so, coach. My head is killing me, and I think I'm gonna puke."

"Grace!" the coach snapped.

"Yes?"

"You share a dorm with Valdez, right? Take him there."

…._

As it turns out, Leo hadn't been exaggerating by much. Both Piper and Jason had to support him as he walked. It also didn't help that Leo was grinning like a madman and kept muttering things like, "I knew it!" and "Please don't let them make out in front of me."

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the dorm room. Piper was about to leave and head to class, but Jason grabbed her arm and whispered "Wait." He took Leo inside. After 10 minutes, during which Piper could here "I told you!" "I don't have ten dollars!" and "Stop gambling so much!", he came back out.

"Took you long enough." She mutters

"Why does it matter? You're not going to class, are you?" he asked, his tone incredulous.

"Yes, I am going to class, because I value my education." She tells him, her voice teasing.

"Aw, come on. One day of skipping won't hurt you."

"Jason, we haven't even been going out for a day and you're already being a bad influence."

"Wanting to have fun does not make me a bad influence!" He protests weakly, and she can't help but laugh.

"Jason, I'm going to class, and you can't stop me."

"Oh really? I wouldn't guarantee that." he says, and then his lips are on hers for the countless time that day, and it's almost perfect, except for the act that they're in a boy's dorm and if the dean comes by they'll both be screwed. That thought gives her enough will to pull away, and she smirks at Jason's disappointed face.

"I told you." She says, and starts walking to class.

"Hey, McLean!" he calls out before she leaves.

She turns.

"Don't forget about our date! I'll be the handsome one with the blue car!" he shouts, and then disappears back into his room with a wink.


End file.
